Binocular composite photograph and method of and apparatus for the photography of composite pictures



June 19, 1928. 1,673,793

A. AMES, JR BINOCULAR COMPOSITE PHOTOGRAPH *AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS F OR THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF COMPOSITE PICTURES Filed Jun 22. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 /-.9 w

June 19, 1928. Y 1,673,793

- A. AMES. JR BINOCULAR COMPOSITE PHOTOGRAPH AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF COMPOSITE PICTURES 1 Filed June 22. 1922 I 4 sheets-sheet 2 I fidelfiri' 777235;?51 naw June 19, 1928. 1,673,793

A. AMES, JR BINOGULAR COMPOSITE PHOTOGRAPH AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS roR THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF COMPOSITE PICTURES Filed June 22. 1922 4 SheetsSheet 5 June 19, 1928. 1,673,793 A AMES, JR

BINOOULAR COMPOSITE PHOTOGRAP H AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF COMPOSITE PICTURES Filed June 22. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 EweTe/Zcn".

I hPaten ted JunelQ, 1928.

ui'rso sraTEs I tenses PATENT oasis I ADELBERT AMES, JR., 0F HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHI RE.

amoo'unna oomrosrrn PHOTOGRAPH Ann METHOD or AND nrrnaarusron rnn rnoroeaarnr or oomrosrrr. r rc'rnans.

Application filed June 22, 922. Serial No. 570,048.

This invention relates to abinocular composite photograph and method of and apparatus for the photography of composite pictures.

fective illusion 'of'rot-undity, effective illusion of distance, the etfective'submergence ot' the background, and other desirable qualities in a photographic picture may be improved by contriving that the picture shall be a composite of images from two points of view in which the resultant picture (or series of pictures, in the case of motion pictures) contains characteristics peculiar to normal binocular vision in the sense of depict-ing in the image qualities perceive'diin actual vision. of the object by the cooperation of parts only of the retina of each eye.

Competent optical physicists have hereto- 20 fore determined that the normal person is able to, andhabitually'does, inhibit the sen sory impression of the image of an object viewed (especially upon first viewing an objcct not before under attention) in symmet: rical and opposite fractions of the respective;

retinas of both-eye's. Thus the sensory inipression may be the binocular or perceptive composite of the twoouter or temporal fractions of the retinas; Or'may be the binocular I an; of the two inner or nasal fractions; or the I whole impression perceived may be arrived at by alternating from one to the other of these kinds of binocular perception.

may thus be said tobe by various perceptions or sen'se'dmpressions of, the object as imaged simultaneously upon the sinner or nasal halves only of the retinal surfaces; or as viewed upon or perceived by the outer 4o tinas cooperatively. First attentions at least may be accompanied by inhibitions-of all ofthe sensory message of first one and then the other eye, but the first impressiomland perhaps,-in many cases, any attentive per ception, is a composite of binocularimages by lateral fractions of the retina only. Nor- The normal habit of viewing an object or temporal halves only of the respective retinas; or as perceived by the wholef'reof course, the optical axes, converging upon i the same object at the center of interest during firstone and then another of theseiny hibitions of lateral fractions of the retinal 5 ,i have discovered that the verity, the efimpression, are not physically shifted inrespect to the axis of the eye-lens and the retinal surface. The eye-image of an object of interest in the obj ect'field istlierefore not actually and physically shifted from one part of the retina to the other part by motion or accommodation of the eye; but the retinal areas temporarily inhibited fromsensory function are alternated, to eifect the same result. i v It will be hereinafter pointed out that the images as actually perceived .by the eyes under these circumstances are quite different in drawing'or geometrical qualities in the case of inhibition of symmetrical temporal halves of the retinal perception, from what they are in case of inhibition of the nasal halves' of the retinal impression, or in case of monocular vision, or whole-retina binocular-vision. The compositeimages so perceived have qualities which convey the facts of rotundi-tyand distance of-the object independently of other factors, such as the sense of convergence of the-eye axes, and the aberrations of the images of objects,awayirom the axis. i A principal object of this inventionjs to provide a Way of picturing by photography differing composite binocular impressions, of thefsa-me character as these visual partretinal images for the urpose' of fundamentally improving the graphic quality of the photograph, particularly in respect to rotundity, verity, and separation front the background of that part of the object-field pictured upon which attention is to be directed. This invention therefore provides a lary thereto for making, and'a binocular composite picture resulting from, simultaneous images differing in respect to the point of view; and may provide-a series of such pictures, such as a strip of motion picture film, which shall bear in the proper order, composite pictures of the sameobject field viewed under circumstances representative .of the varied-or oscillating attention naturally andnormally given the object. A

urther object of the invention is to obtain by photography pictures having the effect,

photographic method and apparatus ancils ma perceptive sense, of new attention upon an object. 3 A further object is to provides method of and a paratus for making composite photograp s characterized hy comgraph overlappingina resultant binocular.

ponents severally r contributing difierent parts of the picture, parts only of the' respective components of the composite photopicture. A 'furtherobject is to rovide a mode of making a composite p otograph from two difierent points of view in which the components of the composite. are respectively'predominant indifferent lateral parts -of the picture or image respectively.

The generic "invention f will be explained with the aid of description of certain specific forms of apparatus only, and in connection V other step in the method with certain .specific methods or procedures only, resulting in forming tures of the kind referred to.

In the accompanying drawings,

composite picexaggerated, for aid in explaining the phenomena of human binocular vision above re-' Fig. 4 is a similar diagram illustrating another position of'the apparatus and an- Fig. 5 is a diagram illustratin the effect of the aperture ot'the lens emp oyed in'av camera in vrespect to the result to be accomp1ished;'-.-

Fig. 6 is a diagram in plan illustrating another form of apparatus 'for'practising the method andproducing the effect;

Fig. 7 is a similar plan illustrating another form of apparatus for practising the.

method and producing the eifect mentioned;

' cording to Fig. 7 for producing the effect;

i one of the shutters shown in Fig. 8;

tus for producing the effect;

Fig. 9 is adetail section in elevation Fig. 10 is a'detail plan of other appara Fig. 11 is anenlarged-detail in plan of a part shown in Fig. 10;

. gig. 12 is a detail elevation of said. parts;

Fi 13 is a diagram of the kind of photo'- grap ic. picture made by. the described method, I

.Referring now to Fig. 1, if L and R represent a pair of normal human eyes, and the point a represents the exact center ofinter est in an object A having rotundity or depth,

7 which the eyes L, R observe,-it will be. ap-

parent that the 'image of the object A in-the.

eye R, if the eyes areaxially directed at the Fig. 1 is a diagram in plan, angles being memes point of interest, will lie firedominahtly upon the. nasa-l'half n of the retina otthe.

eye R, and predominantly upon the nasal half at of the eye So 'far as effective perception isconcerned,however, the composite or binocular image of the obiect A Will be cempletely perceived if the temporal halves t, t of the retinas, do not perceive; or, alternatively, will be completely perceived if the nasal halves 72,62, vof the retinal regions do not perceive, since in. each of these cases the entire surface; of the object and all of the field of view is represented in images in one or in the other eye, which images combine together for one'composite sensory impression.

Butthe compositeimage-pereived by the cooperation of the' temporal halves t, i, only of theretinas is an image of a different character from the composite image perretinas. The composite perceived by the for the impression of rotundity and form of theobject A, but severally their lateral an;

gulardimensions in the retinal image, granting blindness on the temporal halves -t, .t' of the retina, is the angular magnitude only of one of the angles 12 or b r nasal portions, n, n oi the retina in the ceived only by the nasal halves n, n of the But in the case the image-is perceived 1 only by the temporal. fractions of the retinas, the angular magnitude of the actual: image is that only of-one of the'angles a, 0'

7 between the axial direction of the point a and the respective tangents p,- p to the round body one resultof this is that vision" perceived v s only by the nasal (fractions of the-retina is Fig. 8 is. a detailplan of apparatus acvision that sees further around an such-obect as the hypothetical round bo y A than is vision which is perceived onlyby the .tem-

"poral fractions t, t of the retinas.' Another result is that the portions g, g of the background are severally perceived as .mon'ocular images, one by one eye, and one. 7

{by the other eye., The parts 9 gfiof the background respectively occludedbythe 0b- 1 I thetical'ob ect A,viewed respectively by the,

temporal fractions t, and the nasal frac tions mm of theretinas. It-is therefore apparent. that the quality, the drawing, the

geometrical outline, and the background obects appearing. in an image perceived of an object having depth is different, in the case of perception by a composite image occupying the outlying halves of the sensitive surfaces, from what it is when the perception is by a composite image occupying the internal halves only of the sensitive surfaces; and that either sucli composite image differs from the binocular perception by the fullj tions, or by the interior or nasal fractions ofthetwo retinal surfaces. Referring to Fig.

.2,this will be made plain by considering the angleof viewipermitted by the aperture in the screen B. In the case of perception by thenasahfractions n, a onlyof the retinas of the eyes L, R, then the angle of view is the sum of the angles n? and a whereas in the Case of composite vision only by the temporal fractions 6, if", the angle of View is the larger sum of the angles t and t. The angle ot view perceived in any case represents the whole angular extent of theobjectfield capable of being viewed through theopening in the screen B. In the one case all of the object-field behind the screen. represented by the angles m, m is visible through the opening in the screen, while in the other case/tins portion of the gibject-field is occl udd andinvisiblei it will now be plain that composite-images of which the components are fraction of the image afield behind the lens, whether simul-- taneous or perceivedin succession, are very diil erenuboth as respects the extent to which vision of the lateral br hind nearby obj ects,

M receding sides of deep Tob ects, and vision of the "background lieis concerned. A com: posite photograph, for instance, made up of binocular images of which the interior halves between the optical axes-oftwo'lenses are excluded from participation in the result, is

a very difierent'picture from a composite made when the exterior halves of the images outside of the opticalaxes of the lenses are excluded from the composite. In each case the composite image will be binocular, will composites will be different from. theactual ,tion at the point of fixation in the object give the eifect of rotnndity, and will give the effect of convergence upon and good; defini-' field; but the actual contents of oneof these contents of the other in the sense explained above in connection with the optics of perception of two eyes.

This relationship between the partial com-- ponents' of such a) composite holds good whet-her there are'actually two lenses or vire tua'llytwo lenses in use when the binocular prisms composite is made, for instance, by the, superposition of images formed by a s ngle lens into which both a direct and a reflected laterally-displaced beam may be directed.

I makcuse of these differences in the appearance of objects when viewed binocularly intwo regions severally lying-between or outside of the axes of two lenses laterally spaced apart to form composite pictures, in which the parts to the right of the attentionpoint or center of interest, such as the point 0 in Fig. l, are photographed in one lateral half of the mage held or" a lens; and the parts of the object-field lying to theleft of the attention-pointare photographed in the corresponding lateralthalfof the image field of another lens laterally displaced from the first lens by a distance corresponding to greater or less than the distance between the eyes. Fig. lBshows such photograph in diagram. The region of the attention-point at is thus photographed at or near one lateral margin of a component ima e i made by one'lens, and the same region is photographed at or; near the corresponding opposite lateral margin of the component m lmage C made by the other lensrthe com! ponents are superposed in the region C, so as to be in registry, at the attention-point; and the resulting picture then has the qualities explained above. 1

These imagesv may be superposed originally on the sensitive surface by reflection in front of or behind the lenses, or they may he superposed secondarily by double exposure, or by double printing of positives, or

double projection.

Two lenses may, and in some cases are preferably replaced, by reflection devices causing the binocular aspect of the same object' field by direct and reflected images to he formed in superposition in the same image-space by one lens onlyf I Referring now to Fg. 3 for instance, this diagram shows. the essentialsiof the arrangement of a camera" for binocular photography formingthe subject of the application for patent Serial No. 474,560, filed June 2, 1921 by Charles Proctoran'd myself, comprising a photographic lens L, means for sup porting asensitive surface 2, a pair of 25 E, P having a light dividing hypothenuse surface G, and having a laterally displaced 'mirror in by means of which images can be simultaneously formed onthe wsurface'2 fi om the twopoints of View represented by. the real axis ofphe lens E and the the 7 virtual axis the lens 'as reflected in mirror m v I 1f now the field of the lens L is occluded bya screen 8 in the direct beam and is also occluded by a screen 8' in the reflected beam,

the'parts in the image plane represented by t t respectively will correspond to the perceiving temporal retinal fractions of binocuice ice

4 I I I ravages lar vision. When the direct and the virtual the directed and the reflected optical axes axes of the lens are converged (by moving and which, as aconsequence of the optical the mirror m) on the same Object the images peculiarities of the image so formed,- is illuon the surfacex2 will be in coincidence. sive of two-eyed vision, such an object standchange the screens 8, sare moved respec broadened by the increased ,angle of View tively to the right and downward as shown with which it is perceived entirely in acin the figure, then the corresponding regions cordance with normal humanxvision of suchon'the surface 2 as shown at 12?, *rfiwillre-f an object. f y v l spective'ly bear images corresponding .to'the For motion pictures, it is possible with the 75 eye. images'in the nasal retinal halvesof aid of this invention to :closely simulate-the binocular vision. effect of new attention upon an object,'by

It is preferred to adjust the edges of such" imitating'the normal visual oscillation men- I screens as those'shown at s and s in rela' tionedabove. A picture or succession of tion to each other and the real. andvirtual pictures, lll(8' Fig. 13 for instance, may be a0 aXeS' Ofiillcl lens 1 so as to make the ilIum'itaken with composites such 'as those de-r nation on the surface 2 even from side to scribedin which the respective images areside,-the penhmbra of theedge' of the-screen s pp d 05 P D i on 0f for the direct beam diminishing correthe nasal retinal fraction; and then another j5pond'ing'ly to the penumbra, fgr the edge of series taken in whiclltlle stopping Ofi' COIIO 85 I the reflected beam. The penumbral edges of sponds to inhibition of the temporal retinal the several imag at t2, th refor fraction: Such pictures may he succeeded overlap, and it will be noted that this over by full binocular photographs. the compos lapment e Fi v13 i l d th p -t of ites being in registry on the attention point, '.the image in the direct axis 1 of the lens but I preferto continue the composite ,pho- 9!) L, and includes the center of attention whentography by half images from the respec i ever this axis is directed to thecenter of points of view as above explained in any -'attention.; c casein whichit is desirable to concentrate The penumb'ral'effect'ofscreens so placed interest on a figure or object in the object therein shown a screen 8 terminating'at the ing'to photograph the whole, object field in axis 'g of the lens 1 having diaphragm d general,

i with a relatively small aperture is iphoto- I The method isasu'sceptible ofibeing'pracgraphed-on the surface 2, the shadow of theticed by many different arrangements of 5 screen 8 ending sharply at y, But if the apparatus. For example, Figs. 7 I and 8 show loo diaphragm is a diaphragm (2' having a in diagram in plan a camera having like wider aperture, then the 'full shadow of the lenses L and L axiallv displaced laterally, screen s is displacedto*the right to the the image-bearing light from each being =point y abouthalf the aperture of the lens. brought into central coincidence by plane '8 is placed. the less will befthis displacesurfaces p and p of the prisms-P and P, .ment. It will therefore be seen that v the -ofwhich the surface p 'may be a half-sylaxial position. of the screen and the aper ve'red o'r-other light-dividing surface. Shut- 'ture of the lens are important factors. I I ters 8 and s" pivoted vertically in the axial .46 IiisFig. 6 I have indicated in diagrama planes of therespective lenses when" swung 110 further arrangement in which screens a, s respectively-away from or toward the plane. are respectively pivoted at 6 and-7 in the between the lenses will thus have the effect direct and virtual axes respectivelvof-the of occluding the outer andinner'halvesofv lens 1. These scree'nsmay be swung from the respective lenses and-their images, and

side to side to make conipo'site exposures on thus causing the composite image atj to be 115 the surface 2 of the nasal-fraction binocular deprived of anyfcontributing component at or temporal-fraction binocular images re-' the right side of 11 due to lens-L or at. the spectivelyo I I left side of i due to lens L and vice versa. I In either case a camera having the ar- With this arrangementof lenses,- the' shutrana m indicated i diagram ill proterse", 8 cause the same effect in their inner 12 duce a negative which to the-right of the positionas would the interposition of a sin- I center of attention is medominantlv the efgle opaque screen at the line a"; and in their feet of light collected along an axis repreouter'positions as would opaque screens at senting one point of view and to the left of lines 8 7, Fig. 7; a.nd' any shutteror obstructhe" attention center is predominantly tne tion at such positions may be relied upon. 125 effect of light collectedalopg the other point As indicated in Figs. 8 and 9, the preferred a of view. The result of this is to present in shutters '8, 87 may be swung by a T-shaped the photograph, instead of'the single projecslide 10 having slots 11 for pins 12 on arms tion' of the usual monocular lens, a 'rotund 13 fast on the axes 14 of the suitably niounjti -i 5 Referring now to Fig. 4, if without other. ving away fromQits background and being in 30 will be better understood from Fig. 5. -As -field, as contradistinguished from attempt I 40 The further awayfrom the lens 1 the screen mirrors m, m, and the inclined reflection I05 picture of the object at the crossing point of ed shutter, to securesymmetrical movement.

6 pistmf a direct-beamflhalf and a reflected- Serial No. 510,286 filed trains of gears 24,25,

this light will gain many of the described advantages. "For example, in the apparatus andmethod of Figs. 3, l, 6 7, screens shown may be semi-transparent, or

'may vary laterally from partial transparency to complete opacity, and then will result in imageshaving theirrespective parts diminished in intensity accordingly, .the undiminished point of view remaining predominant.

. In the arrangement of Figs. 3, 4 and 6, the desired e tfect'may be attained'by preferred means shown in Figs. 10., 11 and 1 .Fig. 10 is'an enlarged detail plan showing series of flat shutters 20, 21, 22, 23 mounted for rotation on 'vertical axes, capable of intercepting all the falling on P, P also shown in diagram in Figs. 3, 4 and 6. These shutters are interconnected incident light by gear-trains 24, 25; adapted to-be moved by a driver. 30, and meshing with adjacent members of train 24. '1 deno e herein claim,

except'as adapted to the present purpose, a shutter mechanism of this character,which is described and claimed in my application Oct. 25, 1921.

For the present purposes, it is desired to so actuate the shutters 20, 21, 22, 23 asto' close the path to the left-hand part of the face of pr sm P and the path to the upper part of the face of prism P simultaneously;

spaces, respecthe prism-faces Figs. 11 and 12, by interposing betweenithe respectively, a connection adapted to orient thesection-25 otthe train furthestfrom the driver 30 at a position away from the position in which the respective shutters-20 and 21, 22 and 23 are parallel. The connection'shown con sists of a gear 24, last in the trains 24,'and 50 loose on its spindle, adjustably connected to gear 25', fast on the same, sp ndle, constitut ing the first memberof the train 25. The connection may be. adj'ustably made by a V-cone-headedscrew 36 in .gear25, taking into a sector'slot V a V In operation, it will be understood that 37 in gear 25*, as shown in 'movement of gear 30 corresponding to- 90 of rotation of the shutters 20, 21, 22 and 23 will cause these shutters .ippllectively either to IlHlZQI'IIIPtOI to expose t y of the direct beam to theprisms and the upper half of the refiect ed'beamto the prism,

*and thus, see Fig. 6, cause the image tocon- 8 and 9, the

ompanion image from the-other and together the respective faces of the prismse" left-hand half beam half in overlapping relation on the axis of the lens L, these halves being interchangeable in respect to contribution to their illumination by the direct and the reflected beams by moving the driver 30 through a sufiicient distance to shift the geartrainsihrough 90.

lVhat I claim is: 4 1. A composite photograph having components representative of different points of view, the respective components being in registry at a center ofattention, and each component being severally predominant in outlying portions of the photograph.

2. A composite photograph in which one lateral fraction is the record of an image from one point of view, in which another lateral fraction is the record of an image from a point of view laterallyv displaced from the first point of view and in which an area including a center of attention from said points of view severally is a composite record of the contents of both images. i

3. A series of composite photographs-giving the illusion of rotundity and separation from the background of an object at the center, ofinterest and comprising severally composite photographs of images of the ob; jects from laterally separated points of view in coincidence in respect to the image of the object, each ofithe component images of each composit-e being occluded in a region of the picture in which the ot 181 component is predominant. 4. A series of composite photographs giving the illusion of rotundityand separation. from the background of an object at the center of interest and comprising severally composite photographs of images of the obje cts from laterally separated points of view coincidence in respect to the image of the object, each of the component images of each composite being occluded in a region of the picture in which the other component is predominant, the series of pictures containing in succession/ photographs in which the respective component images are predominant on one side and on the other side of the object at the center of interest.

5. The art 'ofmaking composite images for photography comprising'projection upon a surface of complementary partially, overlapping images respectively from two different points of view, the overlapping portions of the images containing the axial region of the respective images. c I 6. The artof making composite images for photography comprising projection upon a surface of simultaneous images of the object-field from laterally separated points 3 of view, symmetrical fractions of the imagefield being occluded in respect to the le spective points of view.

7. The art of making composite ima e v for photography comprising the project on/ upon a surface of "simultaneous complementary fractions of images from laterally separated points of view,- the images belng 1 formed by a single image former and the axial regio'n'of the images being 1n co1nc1- Ydence.

. 8. The artiof series of composite photographs comprising theprojection upon a surface of complementarytractionsof im ages respectively from dlflf'erent pomts of view, the images being coincident'in their v in the first instance.

axial regions a photograph or photographs of such a series beinfissu'cceeded by a photo-- graph or photograp in which the respective complementary fractions exposed are the remainders of the images not exposed -9. The art of photography compri sing forming by an image 'formerand recording as simultaneous composites in coglescence,

images covering respectively fractions of 1 at and thefieldof view, these images overlapping near the axial region of the image forn er V v. I Y

J 10. The art of making photographs imitating part-retinal binocular vision com laterally separated points of view, light from symmetrically opposite fractions of the object-fieldibeing occluded in thepers'pective 1mages,'the; images being sg related to. each o'ther that portions representing the axial lines of sight are in coincidence in the respective images; V v a 11 That method of'making' photographs giving the illusion of rotundity and separa- I tion from the background of an-object. at the center of interestwhich consists in- 110- in respect to each point of view.

tographing the fobject simultaneously omla'terally separatedfpoints of "view, occluding mmetri- Y \cally opposite fractionsof the ob ect-field,

and causingthe respective images to overlap in registry at parts containing the im opposite fractions of the respective'images.

13. Apparatus for making composite photographs comprising means for forming and projecting upon the same image space images of the same object-field from laterally separated points of i ew having therein, in

combination, between the image former and theobje'ct-field, means for. occluding separatelyopposite. fractions of the respective lmages. 1

14. Apparatus for making composite photographs comprising means for forming and pro ect1ng upon/the same imagespace images of the same'object-iield from laterally separated points of view, having therein' shutters adapted to exclude light from opvplfismg ng a plurality-of-ima-ges f .r pQS1t6 sides of the object-field from reaching shutters a aptedv to exclude light fromopposite sidesof the object-field, fromreaching the respective points of View, and means for adjusting the shutters respectively to opposite positions.

' Si ed by meat Hanover, N. H., this sixteenti day of June, 1922.

' ADELBERT .AMEYS, JR. 

